


Common Threads

by Mareel



Series: No Matter How Far [2]
Category: Mass Effect, Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Destroy Ending, Episode Referenced, Episode: s03e24 Zero Hour, Established Relationship, Friendship, M/M, Missing Scene, Post Season 4, Post-Canon, Post-Mass Effect 3, Reference to Canonical Character Death, Romance, a lot in common
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-04-01 07:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4010869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mareel/pseuds/Mareel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the <i>Normandy</i>'s first trip through a repaired mass relay results in contact with some of the former officers of the <i>Enterprise NX-01</i>, Kaidan Alenko and Malcolm Reed take some time to compare notes. (Missing scene)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Common Threads

**Author's Note:**

> This is a missing scene for [No Matter How Far ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3852319). It takes place on the _Normandy_ as Kaidan continues Malcolm's tour of the ship after Jonathan and Shepard went to Shepard's quarters for a drink. 
> 
> "No Matter How Far" takes place two years after the Reaper War was won ( _Mass Effect 3_ : Extended Cut, _destroy_ ending). Shepard has been recovering after being found barely alive, and has insisted on returning to duty on the _Normandy_ as the whole galaxy tries to rebuild. In the Enterprise 'verse, it is 35 years after the destruction of the Xindi weapon that threatened Earth with annihilation. 
> 
> The title is from a speech given by Jonathan Archer to delegates who would be the basis for the United Federation of Planets. (see End Note).

 

_______________________________________________________

 

"Lovely ship you have here, Major. You'd never know she'd just survived a terrible battle."

"There was a lot of repair work to be done. Bur as you see, the Normandy is a small ship, built for speed and stealth. She can fight but we try not to have to – more useful doing other things. It sounds like your Enterprise was quite a bit larger."

"Yes, but we had no cloaking or stealth technology. We had to rely on our defenses and weapons... along with raw speed for getting away from a bad situation. After the attack on Earth, Starfleet added a team of special forces combat specialists. That took some adjustments – becoming more a warship than an exploratory vessel. It wasn't a smooth transition."

Captain Reed and I are standing by the starboard observation viewport. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the similarities – and the differences – between our two versions of the same star system. But I'll have to let the scientists sort that out. 

"I enjoyed getting to talk weaponry with your crewmate... Garrus?" 

I smile at the comment. I know Garrus had been more than pleased to get to do the same with Malcolm, who had developed a lot of technology on the fly when he was serving on the Enterprise. And it sounds like he's still involved in tactical systems development. 

"I'm sure the feeling was mutual, Malcolm."

Whatever either of us was planning to say next is silenced by an embarrassingly loud growl from my stomach. 

Malcolm looks startled, but gives me a wry smile. "Feeling a bit peckish, Major?"

I laugh, not having heard such a British term since I was last back home in Vancouver. "I'm afraid so. It's the biotics... my metabolism runs in overdrive."

He raises an eyebrow, head cocked. "Biotics? I assumed you and the Commander were both human."

"I am. We both are. I'll explain, but let's do it over a snack in the mess if you don't mind, Malcolm."

"Lead on... I don't think I've seen that part of the ship yet anyway."

_________________________________

 

Apologizing for the unremarkable selections, I grab a beef stew ration pack and offer Malcolm his choice. 

"I should have grabbed a steak sandwich on that repair station. Would have gone well with the lager. Hmm... Some of these rations are better than others. And I think there's also some fresh fruit in the cooler. We just set out on this mission a day ago, so there should be plenty left. That sort of thing goes fast though."

"I'm not too hungry. And I wouldn't want to eat up your fresh food supplies. Would you happen to have any tea and biscuits?"

"Of course. I should have offered. You can make your tea as you like it. I'm going to have coffee, I think."

Malcolm's eyes widen at the quantity of sugar I stir into the mug of coffee. "This is as good a time as any to tell you about biotics..."

After an explanation somewhere between basic and too-much-information, Malcolm shakes his head. "I know a certain Denobulan physician from the Enterprise days who will be very sorry to have missed the chance to meet you... and to scan you. Did you say that Shepard has these biotics as well?"

"He has some biotic ability, yes. Mainly due to having been rebuilt after... after being clinically dead." I still don't find it easy to talk about – the two years when I thought him dead, then finding him on Horizon working for Cerberus. But that's dirty laundry that doesn't need airing in this version of the galaxy. I can see that Malcolm has questions, but isn't going to press for details.

"He was dead? That must have been hard for you. This happened before your Reaper War where he was nearly killed again?"

I nod, stirring another spoonful of sugar into the coffee. "It wasn't a good time. He was killed in the line of duty, trying to evacuate Joker – you met him, our pilot – from the first Normandy after an attack. Shepard ordered me to get the rest of the crew to escape pods and went back for him. Joker was safe. Shepard didn't make it." 

I raise the mug to my lips but put it back down on the table, untouched, a little overwhelmed by the intensity of the emotion those memories still evoke. "It was hard... being left behind."

Malcolm puts down his tea and meets my eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stir up the memories of all that." He pauses, hesitant about saying more. "I know how it feels to be left behind. I was the tactical and weapons expert – Jonathan should have ordered me to set and detonate the charges on the Xindi weapon. But he refused to let me do it."

Malcolm pauses, taking a deep breath before continuing. "He told me later he couldn't let anyone else sacrifice themselves on that mission. He didn't have to say the words to know he meant he wouldn't let me make that sacrifice."

His grey eyes still show the pain from that, after nearly forty years. "I understand that. Shepard wouldn't let me go with him to protect him on his final push to destroy the Reapers. I'd been injured, but still... What I saw on his face as he ordered me onto the Normandy for evac... It was relief, among other things. He wanted to know I'd be safe... if there was going to be any safety anywhere for anyone."

There's not much to say after that and we eat in silence. Finally Malcolm breaks through the wall of memories building up. I think for me, it's all too recent, still too raw to talk about comfortably. 

"It sounds as if Commander Shepard has had a rather remarkable career. Yet he's back on the Normandy as if nothing has happened." 

"Not quite that. He says he's done with saving the Galaxy. But he wanted to find some way he could still serve, still contribute. I don't know how long he'll want to keep doing this. This mass relay test was a risk he didn't want anyone else to assume. Running diplomatic errands will probably be of less interest to him. We're taking it one mission at a time."

Malcolm nods, and I realize that he might be the only person in our two worlds who does understand how it is to love a man that the galaxy considers a hero. 

"Shepard's done enough. More than enough it sounds like. But it will never feel like that to him. He's lucky to have you, Kaidan – someone to be an anchor when he needs one." 

I like that image. A lot.

_______________________________________________________

 

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  _The most profound discoveries are not necessarily beyond that next star._   
>  _They're within us, woven into the threads that bind us, all of us, to each other. _  
> – Jonathan Archer ("Terra Prime")__
> 
>   
>    
> 


End file.
